BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (10-3) earned a pair of victories on Saturday at the King Invitational. The Wasps defeated the host Tornado by a 7-4 score to get things started and grabbed a 10-2 win over Queens University of Charlotte to close out day one.
With the win in game one, Head Coach Tommy Forrester reached the 200-win mark for his career at Emory & Henry. The winningest coach in program history, Forrester is one of just five coaches across all sports to win 200 games with the Wasps.
The Basics
GAME ONE – Emory & Henry 7, King (Tenn.) 4
GAME TWO – Emory & Henry 10, Queens (N.C.) 2
LOCATION – Bristol, Tennessee
VENUE – King Softball Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (10-3)
Game One – Emory & Henry 7, King (Tenn.) 4
King opened up a 3-0 lead in the first highlighted by Peyton Day's two-run triple down the right field line. Emory & Henry answered with four runs in the top of the second. The Wasps got on the board on a bases-loaded walk by fifth-year third baseman Allyson Steadman (Kingsport, Tenn.) and pushed two across when senior centerfielder Anna Thomas (Climax, N.C.) doubled to right field.
A two-run home run by sophomore catcher Morgan Silvis (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) pushed the E&H lead to 6-3 midway through the third. The Tornado closed the gap to 6-4 on a RBI double by Rikkelle Miller in the bottom of the third.
The Wasps put an insurance run up in the fourth for the final 7-4 score as Thomas hit another double to the right side.
Sophomore right-hander Avery Adkins (Goodview, Va.) earned the complete-game victory as she allowed four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. King's Nikole Counts suffered the loss, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 10, Queens (N.C.) 2
E&H got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as freshman designated player Reece Chasteen (Lake City, Fla.) singled up the middle to drive in Thomas. In the second, the Wasps put four across highlighted by a RBI triple to centerfield by senior second baseman Hailey Mince (Trinity, N.C.) and a two-run double by freshman shortstop Lydia Taylor (Salem, Va.).
The Royals scored one in the bottom of the second on a groundout by Ashlyn Mickler and another in the fifth thanks to a Kasidi Staley single down the right field line to close the deficit to 5-2.
E&H responded in the sixth as fifth-year senior first baseman Kendall Varner (Bassett, Va.) hit a solo home run for a 6-2 lead. The Wasps plated four in the seventh highlighted by Lydia Taylor's solo shot and back-to-back doubles by freshman Mackenzie Williams (St. Augustine, Fla.) and sophomore Desi Norris (Sims, N.C.) for the 10-2 final margin.
Freshman MaKayla Dowdy (Blacksburg, Va.) earned the win in relief, allowing just one run on one hit with two strikeouts across five innings. Queens' Jordan Dunn suffered the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and one walk in one-plus innings.
Up Next
E&H will be back in action on Sunday, playing Queens at 1:00 p.m. and King at 3:00 p.m.
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